Buyers sop up farm-fresh canola oil by Gina Teel
Calgary Herald, August 8, 2000

Farm-fresh cooking oils that are pressed, bottled and delivered the same week they are ordered are making a splash in some of Calgary’s finest restaurants.

But fussy chefs aren’t the only ones sopping up the locally grown certified organic and non-genetically modified canola and flaxseed oils produced at Highwood Crossing Farm Ltd. in Aldersyde, 30 kilometers south of Calgary.

“We get a lot of calls from people wanting to buy it by the tanker load,” says Tony Marshall, who runs Highwood Crossing with his wife, Penny.

“We even had a call from the Canadian consulate in Dallas, where Frito Lay is headquartered. Frito lay was looking for non-genetically modified canola oil to use in their product and asked if we could supply them. As much as we would have loved to, we just don’t have the capacity.”

Instead of keeping vats of pressed oil on hand, the Marshalls press to order.

Unlike commercial processors that use caustic sodas and solvents to extract the maximum amount of oil out of the seed and mea, the Marshalls cold-press their home-grown canola and flaxseed in the certified organic processing facility in their home. Mondays are spent pressing the previous week’s orders, Tuesdays the oil is bottled, with the entire batch being delivered by Friday.

Freshness is only part of the attraction. The Marshalls’ canola oil contains half the saturated fat of cold-pressed virgin olive oil, making it a staple on the menu at the health-conscious Calgary Golf and Country Club.

The organic and genetically modified-free aspect, which results in a higher naturally occurring enzyme and vitamin E content than commercially refined oils, has made it attractive to health-food grocers such as Sun Terra Market.

The Marshalls grow and use only the Polish variety of canola, which has not been genetically modified. This makes cross-pollination with the genetically modified Argentine variety less likely. Nevertheless, the Marshalls have their entire crop DNA tested.

Superior taste is what sold chefs at places such as the Jasper Park Lodge, Edmonton’s Hotel MacDonald and Calgary’s River Café.

“There are at least six restaurants that I know of using it because the flavor is so outstanding,” says River Café head chef Glen Manzer. “The taste is so much deeper and golden and richer than commercially refined canola oil, which is virtually tasteless.”

The bright yellow omega-3 rich flaxseed oil, which cannot be heated, is used as a salad dressing, porridge topping, butter substitute or a herb-infused garnish.

While chefs and health-conscious consumers are sold on the merits of fresh-squeezed oil, Marshall says it might be a while before the general public catches on.

“The practice is commonplace in Europe, but people here are still used to going to Costco and getting a 20-litre bucket and putting it under the sink for a year.”